Showing results by narrator "John Michael" in All Categories

When you think of the Aztecs, you might think of certain movies you have seen or what you've been taught in history class. And although some of those images and descriptions fit the main narrative, there is still much left to be discovered. The Inca empire was vast and massive. Infamous among the historical stories from the Spanish invaders are the evidence of human sacrifice and their polytheistic views on nature and life. Other aspects of the Inca empire constitute of the role women, children, and merchants played, and their extensive system of roads, networks, and travel points.

The Inca empire was vast and massive. Yet, still so few people know much about it, aside from what they've heard from vague rumors. But did you know the Inca people showed various similarities to those who came from the Middle East? Did you know that they mummified their dead and built pyramids? Infamous among the historical stories from the Spanish invaders are the evidence of human sacrifice and their polytheistic views on nature and life.

I overhear my best friend’s gorgeous Little Princess lamenting that her boyfriend is terrible at sex. Well, she deserves a real man who’ll make her scream. Who better than me? While her weak boyfriend watches, she begs me to go deep. And when I give her what she wants, I can't resist putting my baby in her too.

My best friend’s gorgeous Little Princess has displeased The Clan. As the Captain and the one in charge of her, the only way to protect her is to punish her publicly. While everyone watches, she submits to a thorough spanking. But when it’s over, she wants more. She wants me to go deep. Even if it’s wrong, I’m making her mine by putting my baby in her too.

Life in the big city has its problems: traffic, overpopulation, and crime, not to mention the brain-hungry living dead. But for hard rockers Straw and Whip, life among the flesh-eating populace is easy. They pass their time disguising themselves to fit in with the decaying hordes, pilfering musical instruments from deserted shopping malls, eating like kings, and performing rooftop rock shows...until they meet a gun-crazy vixen named Betty. Soon the duo begin to feel the flames of jealousy over who in all likelihood is the last woman on Earth.

People dream of being stranded in paradise...until it happens for real. You know those dumb quizzes on social media that tell you to pick the one person you wouldn’t mind being stuck on a deserted island with? Well, a few months ago, I would have said Kate. I thought she was the one. Until she ghosted me. Now she’s back and wants to make amends. She had a reason for what she did, even if it hurt, so against my better judgment I invited her to go fishing on my boat. I definitely didn’t plan for what happened next.

I met Ana on the playground when we were kids. She kicked me down the slide because I was scared and took too long. I fell in love with her on the spot. No matter which way life pulled us, we stayed in contact as best friends do. That’s our first problem. Best friends. Purely platonic. Our second problem has been the only thing keeping me from doing something stupid, like telling her I love her. Now, Ana is moving to Hawaii. Right down the road. I’ll see her gorgeous face every day. What I won’t do is tell her the truth.

Molly Whitman’s carefully arranged life unravels when her fiancé dumps her right before their wedding. Now she’s headed to Hawaii on the honeymoon of a lifetime - alone. Helicopter crew chief Roman Russo has never thought of himself as a knight in shining armor. But when Molly forgets to cancel some honeymoon activities and needs someone to stand in as her husband, he’s right there to save the day.

After a brutal fight to the Mississippi River, Jonathan Fisher and the few survivors that follow him have begun their journey south. His task is clear and his reason to live has been renewed. Somewhere out there is power, working airplanes and a possible refuge from the nightmare around them. A small mute girl known as Geeda deserves a chance at life, and they want to make sure she has it. But it will not be easy. Lack of food, shelter and weapons makes their trip difficult. Foreign invaders, infected crazed citizens, and treasonous “Wranglers” make it perilous.

When monsters rule the earth...Herein you’ll find a series of sojourns to places where humans are often quite literally overshadowed by the action at hand. This collection of exciting tales from writers who love the giant monster genre runs the gamut from mutation to invasion - from insurrection to vengeance - from the distant past to a far-off future, all with a single common factor: Great big game-changing things.

How did Tim Schmidt, an average Midwestern kid who graduated with a lot of debt and a big bar tab, become one of the most respected and in-demand digital marketing consultants in the world? Schmidt has identified 15 lessons that will help the average person amplify their life, break out of the “average trap," and finally unlock their dreams. In Amplifying Average, Schmidt shares those lessons, with practical details and battle tested strategies to show how the average person can earn as much money as they want, live life on their own terms, and learn happiness is the true ROI.

I fell for Aedon Thatcher years ago, the moment I laid eyes on her. Her beauty, brains, and “I don’t give a damn” attitude were irresistible. I thought I had my future all figured out, down to the names of our children. Then, I screwed it all up. My ego, which perched higher than your average Joe, became the monster that ate away at her love for me. I went from her hero to an evil villain that she ran from. I couldn’t blame her. I hated me, too.

When Chicago hitman Ray Dylan started out he was one more young professional struggling to get ahead of the pack. But he knows his world is about to change quickly when he takes on a job for high-level KGB elitist Leonid (The Professor) Volkov, founder of a unique Cuban-Russian spy community operating out of southern Florida. After Volkov double-crosses him and tries to have him killed, Dylan must take on the entire criminal spy operation even as a wild hurricane named Dennis ravages its way up the heart of the Florida peninsula.

Ozark Free Territory, 2071: The Kurian Order has reigned for 50 years. Using the dreaded power of their Reaper avatars, the alien, vampiric Kur hold dominion over the earth and its inhabitants. Yet there are those who would rather die fighting than surrender to the unquenchable thirst of the enemy - those like David Valentine.

Lou Prophet is in mixed company these days. He doesn’t mind being close to his pretty pistol-packing partner, Louisa Bonaventure. Known as the Vengeance Queen, she has his back — and dare he say it, part of his heart. But accompanying the vile outlaw Blanco Metalious back to Nugget Town to see him hang isn’t exactly Lou’s idea of a good time.

With a handful of murderous rogues, Captain Jed Foster has run off with four wagons containing new Springfield rifles, bayonets, and ammunition meant to resupply the troops at Fort Bowie in Arizona Territory. Foster plans to sell the weapons to the highest bidder — whether it’s Apaches, Mexican revolutionaries, or Confederate veterans who still dream of destroying the Union. But that’s the least of Foster’s problems.

In all his years of bounty hunting, not one injury could rival the pain Lou Prophet felt when he thought he’d lost his old partner Louisa Bonaventure. Now that he’s rescued her from the brink of death in Mexico, they’re seeking a fresh start in Juniper, Wyoming, which had once been called Helldorado before Lou’s friend, “Hell-Bringin’” Hiram Severin, cleaned it up. Or thought he had....

"Work Sets You Free" by David Barnett is an original short story featuring the protagonist of the forthcoming novel Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl. Gideon is a young fisherman in Yorkshire, England, in an alternate 1890, who embarks on a journey to find Captain Lucian Trigger, the famed Hero of the Empire, to deal with a mystery plaguing his home village.

A roundear there shall surely be born to a strong, raised to be free fighting dragons in his youth leading armies, nothing loth ridding his country of a sore joining two, then united four until from seven there be one only the will his task be done....

When Kelvin was a child, his mother read to him from the Book of Prophecy and he asked what the poem meant. Now he was about to learn. The Kingdom of Rud languishes under the heel of a usurper; an evil sorcerer has taken the throne in the name of his wicked daughter. Even deep in the forest, away from all power, the people tremble and await the day of prophecy's fulfillment. It cannot come too soon: Charlain and her children are soon to lose their home to the tax collector. But Kelvin and Jon have other plans.